Dr Iman Shankiti, WHO Representative to Jordan
Dr Shankiti is a leader in humanitarian health and crisis response, with over 26 years of experience in strengthening health systems and advancing humanitarian coordination across complex, crisis-affected regions.
Dr Shankiti began her career with WHO in April 1999 in the Iraq Country Office where she worked to strengthen the primary health care system and foster partnerships to improve health outcomes.
In 2008 she was appointed Emergency Coordinator for Sudan, and for 5 years led efforts to build national preparedness capacity and enhance organizational readiness for emergencies.
Dr Shankiti was assigned as Emergency Coordinator for Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2014, where she continued her focus on ensuring effective responses to both natural disasters and conflict-related emergencies. In April 2017 she became the Emergency Operations Manager for the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, based at the Regional Office in Cairo. During her tenure, she provided leadership for the regional response to 10 graded emergencies, including 4 Grade 3 emergencies, ensuring timely and effective health interventions across the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
From July 2018 to April 2022, Dr Shankiti served as WHO Representative to Lebanon. Her tenure covered some of Lebanon’s most difficult periods, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut explosion and severe economic hardship. She focused on enhancing the resilience of Lebanon’s health system, promoting universal health coverage and ensuring emergency preparedness. Her approach emphasized evidence-based decision-making and the integration of development-oriented strategies to serve the most vulnerable populations.
From May 2022 to October 2024 Dr Shankiti served as Acting WHO Representative in Syria. She played a pivotal role in advancing universal health coverage (UHC) and strengthening access to quality health services through policy dialogue and targeted support, and worked to protect people from emergencies by enhancing national and sub-national emergency preparedness and response while fostering a supportive policy environment that promoted health and well-being for all.
In October 2024, Dr Shankiti was appointed as Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator (DHC) for Yemen, based in Aden. She worked closely with the Internationally Recognized Government (IRG) to enhance humanitarian coordination, promote durable solutions and foster strategic engagement, bridging humanitarian aid with long-term development, ensuring safe access to assistance and building resilience for vulnerable communities across Yemen.
Dr Shankiti holds a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Jordan University, a master’s degree in health system management from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Primary Health Care Diploma from the University of London
Throughout her career, Dr Shankiti has demonstrated unwavering dedication to strengthening health services and crisis readiness for communities facing extreme adversity. Her leadership has left a lasting impact, not only on WHO’s mission but also on the lives of those she has served, helping to ensure that even in the most complex settings health systems are resilient, accessible and capable of delivering quality care.